Carrot Cake Balls

Posted by: Maggie

I'm probably the only food blogger in the universe who hasn't ever made cake balls. I haven't even tried cake balls (well, until now,) despite the fact that they're so popular even Starbucks has them now. I usually hate using cake mixes and canned frosting, but for my first time making these I just wanted to go the easy route, and I must say that they are delicious! Annie posted a recipe for carrot cupcakes a while back that you could probably use if you wanted to make these from scratch.

I made these over the course of two days since there is a lot of chilling and inactive time involved. The super cute carrot decorations are from my favorite baking supply store, Bake It Pretty.

I don't really know how carrot cake came to be associated with Easter, but since it is, these would make a great treat to have around two weeks from tomorrow!

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of carrot cake mix (and eggs and oil called for on the box)
1 can cream cheese frosting
1 package white almond bark

Bake carrot cake as directed on package, following directions for a 13x9 pan. Let cake cool completely (a few hours,) and crumble into a large bowl. Mix the entire can of cream cheese frosting into the crumbled cake mix to form a dough. I used my very clean hands for this - it was really messy, but much easier than using a spoon.

Chill the "dough" for a few hours (I chilled it overnight.)  Roll the dough into golf ball sized balls, place on a baking sheet, and put in the freezer for one hour.  Remove from freezer, and melt the almond bark per directions on package. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each ball in the melted almond bark, place on baking sheet, and garnish as desired.

Random cake ball tips:

I use two forks to carefully lift the balls out of the almond bark, and let the excess drip down the side before placing on the baking sheet.

Almond bark firms up very quickly, so garnish each cake ball immediately after dipping, rather than waiting until you've dipped the whole batch. 

Makes about 30 cake balls.

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

Posted by: Maggie

I'm back from Vegas, and back to cooking and baking! I got back on Sunday night after what seemed like the longest travel experience ever. Jeff and I had initially booked the same flight leaving Las Vegas around noon, connecting in Los Angeles (completely illogical, but cheap), and arriving at Dulles airport around 1:00 a.m. Eastern time. Well, Continental Airlines sucks, and canceled our return flight about 10 days before our trip for undisclosed reasons. I managed to get on a new flight leaving Vegas at 8:45 am (also connecting in LA), but they were completely uncooperative when it came to Jeff's flight, and never re-booked him. He ended up having to buy a completely new return flight home with JetBlue, and we could no longer suffer through the long flight together.

Not to be all Negative Nancy on here, but every time I fly it reaffirms what a horrendous experience flying really is. First, most airlines make you pay for everything. I spent $50 just for the privilege of checking a suitcase (in addition to my $380 ticket!) Second, they hate tall people. I'm 5'7" and Jeff is 6'2". My knees touch the back of the seat if the person in front of me even reclines an inch. I can't imagine how miserable it must be for a truly tall person.

Anyway, on to happier things. Vegas was awesome despite having to fly home early on a Sunday all by myself. The first night we were there was Jeff's 30th birthday dinner, and by far my favorite night of the trip. We went to a restaurant at the Planet Hollywood Casino called Strip House, that was by far one of the best meals I've had in my life. Out of the 20 people who went on the trip, 15 of us attended the dinner, and we were able to get a private room (with a big tv to watch the basketball games), a big family style meal, and a 2-hour open bar. I stuffed myself with Riesling, Caesar salad, NY Strip AND Filet Mignon, garlic fries, creamed spinach, and potatoes romanoff. I used to hate steak as a kid because I'd only ever had it cooked well done. Now that I'm an adult and know to order it medium-rare or medium, it is pretty much the best meal I can imagine.

I think you can tell from the carnage on the table that we all enjoyed the meal immensely:

I was glad that Jeff and I got a nice picture out of the evening, pre-meat fest. You can't tell from the picture, but I was extremely glad that my dress was kind of flowy, to disguise the food baby I was carrying throughout the rest of the evening.

Since I knew we'd be too stuffed for birthday cake immediately after our dinner, I arranged to have Retro Bakery deliver 3-dozen mini-cupcakes to our hotel. They were there when we checked in, and I cannot put into words how impressed I was with this bakery. Usually I turn up my nose at bakery produced stuff, and prefer to make my goodies homemade, but I would give my left thumb to have the recipes they used for these cupcakes. They were, in a word, fantastic. They lasted awhile since we were barely in the room, and still tasted fresh two days after they were delivered. The cupcakes weren't a surprise, so I solicited flavor input from Jeff when placing the order. He selected milk and cookies, cinnamon toast, and maple bacon, and I rounded out the order with chocolate fountain, red carpet, and peanut butter cup. I basically wanted to try every flavor on the menu (except mint chocolate chip...mint is for toothpaste, not for baked goods).

'Scuse the crappy photo, the kitchen in our hotel was kind of dark:

All in all, it was a great trip. I could probably write a ton more about the trip, but I don't want to bore you with every detail. I will leave you with one final photo that I took from the patio at Koi. So. Stinkin'. Pretty.

Now, onto the cupcakes. I stayed home from work on Monday to recover from my long flight, unpack, and relax. Vegas may be a fun vacation, but it's certainly not a relaxing one. Since I had a whole day to kill, I decided to whip up these cupcakes to bring to work today. They were so moist and flavorful, and I got quite a few compliments from co-workers on them. Don't skip the lime syrup step - the frosting is insanely sweet, and you will want the tartness of the syrup to balance it out. The lime syrup makes a huge quantity. The recipe states that you should just pour the syrup over the cupcakes after poking holes with a skewer, but I just poked the holes and spread about a teaspoon of syrup on top instead. I didn't want sticky syrup running all over the cupcake liners. I ended up having a lot left because of how I put the syrup on, but the flavor was definitely noticeable and preferable if you don't want to make a huge mess.

What you'll need:

For the cupcakes:

3 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. limeade concentrate
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk (I used 2%)

For the lime glaze:

3/4 cup limeade concentrate
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

For the buttercream: *If you're a heavy froster you will want to double this.

3 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 tbsp. (or more) maraschino cherry juice (I ended up using 5 tbsp.)
Food coloring (optional - I used a tiny bit of Wilton's pink gel color to achieve the color in the pic)

For decoration:

Maraschino cherries (drained and slightly dried on a paper towel)
Sliced limes (drained and slightly dried on a paper towel)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a cupcake pan with foil or paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Using a mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, and beat on medium-high until creamed. Add the limeade concentrate into the mixture and mix to incorporate. The batter will look really weird, but it's ok, you're not doing anything wrong! Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions. Add in the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix ingredients just long enough to incorporate.

Evenly divide the batter among cupcake cups. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. My cupcakes took 17 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing and frosting.

For the lime glaze, mix together limeade concentrate and sugar until well blended. Poke holes in cupcakes with a skewer or a toothpick, and spoon or pour over the cupcakes.

Let it soak in for a few minutes before frosting.

For the frosting, combine all the frosting ingredients with a stand mixture. Beat on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, and then increase to medium-high speed and beat until smooth.

Frost cooled cupcakes, and decorated as desired.

Source of recipe and decorating inspiration: Annie's Eats

"Irish" Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

Posted by: Annie

I am not really sure that shortbread is Irish; in fact, I am pretty sure that they are Scottish, but for the sake all things St. Patrick's Day they will be Irish for this week. I was supposed to be going to Vegas with co-blogger Maggie, but due to standardized testing at my school I will be staying in Philadelphia and drowning my sorrows with chocolate dipped shortbread and hopefully a few drinks. 

I really wanted to shape these cookies into shamrocks and sprinkle the chocolate with Irish-themed sprinkles, but I discovered on my trips to both Wegmans and Target that St. Patrick's Day is totally ignored and I was surrounded by all things Easter. As much as I love Cadbury eggs and pastels, I was bummed to discover that my shortbread would not be shamrock shaped or adorned with festive sprinkles. I now know that next year I will order supplies online because the Easter Bunny is obviously more important to major stores than cute little leprechauns. (I joke, kinda.)

What you will need: 

3 sticks butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar together until just combined. Next, stir in vanilla extract. In a separate smaller bowl mix flour and salt, and add into butter mixture. Mix until the dough comes together. Flour a work surface and use it to shape the dough into a flat round disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for thirty minutes.

After the dough has chilled, roll it out to approximately 1/2 inch thick. Using a pizza wheel or cookie cutter cut out 3 by 1 inch cookies. Place the prepared cookies on an un-greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Remove from the oven and cool completely.

In a separate microwaveable bowl melt three ounces of the chocolate at thirty second increments in the microwave. When the chocolate is melted, stir in the remaining chocolate and stir until smooth and shiny. Allow the chocolate to slightly cool.

Dip each cookie halfway into the chocolate and place on a parchment lined sheet. Allow cookies to rest until chocolate is set and then store in a covered container at room temperature. 

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Green Velvet Cupcakes

Posted by: Maggie

St. Patrick's Day is almost here!!! I'm Irish, I love the color green and love beer even more, so this is such a fun holiday for me.  Last year, Jeff, our friends, and I celebrated St. Patrick's Day in a pretty awesome way.  We all took the day off work, and did a daytime bar crawl through DC on the Boomerang Bus.  I have to say, riding on a party bus past your office at 2 pm on a weekday is a pretty good feeling.

This year, our St. Patrick's Day plans are even better.  We're going to Las Vegas! Jeff's 30th birthday is the day before St. Patrick's Day, so it was decided last year right around his 29th birthday that we'd do a trip to celebrate the big 3-0, St. Patrick's Day, and to watch and gamble on all the March Madness games.  Personally, I couldn't give a hoot about basketball, which is why I'll be spending a lot of time here.  At last count, there were 20 people going on this trip including me and Jeff, so I know there will always be someone fun to hang out with even if half the group is glued to the basketball games.

Last year I didn't make one single St. Patrick's Day dessert, so I couldn't let this year go by without making something green.  These cupcakes are originally from Bakerella, but I actually spotted them on Love from the Oven a few days ago.  I couldn't believe what a gorgeous shade of green these came out to be.  I wish I had cut open a cupcake and photographed it for you, because they are the prettiest shade of kelly green I've ever seen.  As you can see from my accident below, they use a LOT of food coloring to achieve that result.

Oh hai, man hands. P.S. You can't see most of my shirt, but York College represent! 

I'm a messy cook, what can I say? Soap and water did little to get the food coloring off my skin - interestingly enough, when I took a shower the next morning my shampoo that's intended for color treated hair washed it away!

These are mixed together somewhat unconventionally (no creaming of butter and sugar), but they were moist and fluffy, which is all that matters! I halved the recipe, but the amounts below are for a full batch of 24.  I didn't follow an exact recipe when I made the cream cheese frosting, but there are a few listed on our site already.  I would suggest this one, sans cinnamon if you want a stiffer cream cheese frosting that holds its shape.  I used the "Giant French Tip" from Bake it Pretty for these.  It was my first time using it, and it's my new favorite.

If green velvet isn't your cup of tea, make sure to check out co-blogger Annie's recipe for Irish Car Bomb cupcakes from back when we started blogging! They would also be perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

 

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Here's what you'll need:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t salt

1 t baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 T white vinegar

1 t vanilla

1 oz green food coloring

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line cupcake pan with paper or foil liners. 

In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs with a whisk.  Add in the oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring.  Whisk til blended and set aside.  

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda.  

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients, and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for about 1 minute, or until everything is well combined.  Don't overbeat, or your cupcakes will turn out tough! 

Pour the batter into prepared cupcake pans.  Bake for 17-19 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from pans.  Cool completely before frosting.  I'm impatient, and usually just stick my cupcakes in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool them off! 

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Source:  Adapted from Bakerella and Love from the Oven

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Posted by: Annie

Craving warmer weather anyone? Despite growing up on the Jersey Shore*  I am not the biggest fan of what is considered "beach" weather, but I am definitely sick of twenty-degree mornings, panty-hose and close-toed shoes. These cupcakes remind me of the lovely spring time weather that I am craving. When I saw them on Annie's Eats, I immediately fell in cupcake love with the ingredients and the name - Hummingbird Cupcakes. The pineapple and banana flavors mixed with coconut are out of this world, and become addictive when topped with a rich cream cheese frosting.

*(Disclaimer: it is nothing like the show people- I only Snooki poof my hair for special occasions)

What you will need:

For the Cupcakes:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

11 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (approximately 3 medium-sized)

2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained

2/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional- I omitted)

2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

For the frosting:

8 oz cream cheese

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed,  beat the butter, vanilla and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the mashed banana. With the electric mixer on low speed, slowly mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Using a spatula fold in the pineapple, nuts and coconut.

Fill the liners until 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick entered in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for approximately 10 minutes then remove and cool completely on wire racks.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer on high speed beat until the cream cheese and butter are well combined and smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, initially on slow speed, and then increase the speed until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes. Garnish with coconut if desired. 

Source: Annie's Eats

Black Magic Cupcakes

Posted by: Annie

Confession: I actually made these cupcakes for Valentine's Day, but knew that I would not have the post ready, so I purposely set one cupcake aside and decorated it with non-Valentine's sprinkles. (Boo me and my slow posting.) These cupcakes were very rich, but the super light frosting balanced out the cupcake perfectly. I shared these cupcakes with my co-workers on Valentine's Day, and actually used them to bribe two students to finish their multiplication problems. Behold the power of cupcakes...

For the cake:

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong coffee

For the frosting:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa powders, baking soda and powder, and salt.

In a separate large bowl, use a mixer to beat together oil and sugar, on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined, approximately two minutes. Beat in buttermilk and coffee. Reduce the mixer to low and slowly add in the flour mixture.

Fill each cupcake tin 3/4 of the way full. Bake 25 minutes until the top of the cupcakes appear firm. Remove from pan and cool thoroughly before frosting.

For the frosting...beat cream in a large bowl on high speed until stiff peaks form.

In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sour cream on medium speed until creamy. Add in sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt, and beat for approximately 2 minutes. Beat in melted chocolate and fold in whipped cream until well blended.

Frost cupcakes and decorate!
 
Source: Sugar Plum

Mini Raspberry Swirl Cheesecakes

Posted by: Maggie

I'm kind of in disbelief that I haven't posted a cheesecake recipe on here yet.  It's one of my all time favorite desserts, especially types that have a fruit topping or swirl to cut the cheesecake's intense richness and sweetness.


I brought half of these into work, and one of my coworkers who isn't even into sweets went back for seconds and thirds.  Usually I'm pretty good at only trying one or two or whatever I make, but the few I have leftover are calling my name from the fridge.  So much for attempting to make portion controlled sweets!

These would also be a perfect Valentine's treat for your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, sister, landlord, hairdresser, electrician, plumber, dentist, or cat.  Actually, not that last one. ;)

Anyone have any fun Valentine's Day plans? Last year Valentine's Day was on a Sunday, and Jeff and I went out the following weekend (instead of that Saturday or Sunday) to CoCo Sala.  I actually really liked doing that, since we were able to avoid the crowds, and order from the regular menu instead of your typical overpriced Valentine's Day prix fixe.  We're going to PS7's this Saturday, which I'm pretty psyched about.  I think they'll still have their normal menu on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to trying them - they're a dressy place, but have mini-hot dogs as an appetizer, and cocktails made with Miller High Life.  In other words, straight up awesomeness.

Here's what you will need:

For the crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp. sugar

For the topping:
6 oz. fresh raspberries
2 tbsp. sugar

For the filling:
2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and line cupcake pans with paper liners (I got these awesome hot pink ones from Bake It Pretty in case you're wondering!)  In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar, and stir until crumbs are thoroughly moistened. Press one tablespoon of the graham mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner.  I used a shot glass to press it down - it was the perfect size.  Bake for 5 minutes, until just set and transfer to a cooling rack.

To make the raspberry puree, combine raspberries and sugar to a food processor, and pulse until completely smooth.  Pour puree through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the seeds.

To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Blend in the sugar until smooth.  Mix in the salt and vanilla.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

To assemble, spoon 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter over the crust in each cupcake liner.  Dot a ½ teaspoon of the raspberry puree in a few dots over the cheesecake filling.  Use a toothpick or a wooden skewer to lightly swirl and create a marbled effect.

Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature.  Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Source

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Posted by: Annie

The other day I did a very dangerous thing- I went food shopping without a shopping list. I ended up with three bags of shredded carrots...and I had no recipe in mind. This led me to make a cupcake version of one of my favorite desserts- Carrot Cake. The original recipe called for raisins, but I left them out because I am not a huge fan of them in carrot cake. 

What you will need:

Cupcakes:

2 c sugar

1 1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 t vanilla extra

3 extra-large eggs

2 cups flour

2 t cinnamon

2 t baking soda

1 1/2 salt

3 cups grated carrots 

1 cup raisins 

1 cup chopped walnuts (1/2 cup extra for garnish)

Frosting:

3/4 lb cream cheese (room temperature)

1/2 pound unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 t vanilla extract

1 lb confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl beat together sugar, oil and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time. In a separate large bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Slowly mix in half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the dry ingredients and add to the batter. Mix well until combined. 

 

Line a muffin pan with liners and scoop batter into 22 muffin cups; each cup should be about 3/4 of the way full. For the first ten minutes bake the cupcakes at 400 degrees. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from cupcake pans and cool.

For the frosting, cream the cheese, butter and vanilla. Stir in the sugar and beat until the frosting is smooth. 

 

Frost cupcakes when cool, and garnish with walnuts if desired. 

Brownie Pudding

Posted by: Maggie

I have had this recipe bookmarked ever since I first saw it on Annie's Eats back in February.   I'm a big fan of brownie sundaes and lava cakes, and this looked like the perfect combination between the two.  I made it on Saturday night as the dessert to our baked ziti dinner.  Clearly it was a very healthy day.  Yes, this dessert is calorie and fat free.  You read it here first, folks.

Life tip: Don't go grocery shopping with your boyfriend when you're buying ingredients like vanilla beans.  He didn't comment, but I'm aware that $12 for two shriveled up pods seems insane to someone who mainly subsists off of Hot Pockets when he's not with me.  I prefer to only be silently judged by the checkout cashier for my frivolous purchases. 

½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish (Note: the recipe calls for unsalted, but next time I might use 1 stick salted, 1 stick unsalted - while the recipe is basically perfect as written, I think a touch of salt could make it even more perfect.)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly butter a 2-quart baking dish.  Melt the 2 sticks of butter in the microwave, and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until thick, and light yellow in color.  Combine the flour and cocoa powder in a medium bowl, and whisk together until combined. 

Scrape out the contents of the vanilla bean, and add to the egg/sugar mixture. Gradually add the flour/cocoa mixture, and mix until just combined. Slowly pour in the melted butter and mix again until just combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Place the baking dish into a larger baking pan, and add very hot tap water to the larger pan creating a water bath, coming about halfway up the smaller baking dish.  Bake for 60 minutes - it will look under-baked, but that's the way it's supposed to be.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Posted by: Maggie

Let me tell you, the universe did NOT want me to make red velvet cupcakes.  The problem started back in September, which you can read about here. 

Next, co-blogger Annie texted me saying that she was going to make red velvet cupcakes.  There isn't really any point in having two red velvet recipes on the blog, so I kind of scrapped the idea.

Then, I decided that I would go ahead and make them anyway, and that Annie and I could have a throw down of sorts.  Not that we could actually taste each others cupcakes being that we live three hours apart.

The next thing I know, Annie doesn't want to make them anymore because it's after Christmas (she was going to have a Christmas twist to hers) and I was in a post Christmas anti-sweets funk.

Then, on January 2nd I thought hey, why don't I finally make those cupcakes?

Nope, not happening, my eggs are expired.

Fast forward to January 3rd - I now have fresh eggs, but decided to cook something healthy to start off the new year instead.

I finally made these darn cupcakes on Thursday night.  And you know what? They were definitely worth the wait. 

This is the second recipe in a row we've posted by Brown Eyed Baker for a reason.  Everything she posts on her blog is awesome, and I have complete confidence that whatever I make from her site will work.  This is exactly what I look for in a red velvet cupcake - dark red, not that artificial pinky-red, a hint of chocolate taste, and a light, moist texture. 

This recipe makes a dozen cupcakes...most of which I decorated with a dollop of cream cheese frosting like you see above.  The normal ones will be brought to my coworkers.  This Redskin's themed version will be for Jeff.  I think the frosting looks like Velveeta, but it's really just the Wilton gel color in "golden yellow".  The decoration is from Fancy Flours.

Redskins cupcake:

Here's what you will need:


For the cupcakes...

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons red food coloring
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar


For the frosting...

4 ounces butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a muffin tin with paper liners.

On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.  Crank up the mixer to high and add your egg, beating until well incorporated.

In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla, and food coloring.  Stir until well combined, then add to the batter, mixing on medium speed until thoroughly combined.

Reduce the mixer to low, and add half the buttermilk.  Add half the flour and mix until combined.  Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high just until smooth.

Reduce your mixer speed to low, and add the salt, baking soda, and vinegar.  Turn the mixer back up to high, and beat for a couple minutes until completely combined and smooth.

Divide the batter evenly in your pan, and bake for 18-20 minutes (mine took 18) or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then remove to cool completely prior to frosting.

To make the frosting, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary.  Reduce the speed to low, and gradually add in the powdered sugar until incorporated.  Add the vanilla and mix to combine.  Increase mixer speed to medium high, and whip for 2-3 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy.

Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

Posted by: Annie

These cookies really helped me become fully in the Christmas spirit. I initially made a peppermint frosting for these cookies, however I was not a fan, and could not bring myself to frost these delicious chocolate cookies with a frosting that I could not even stomach. So I instead made a vanilla frosting and topped each cookie with crushed candy canes. The festive cookies plus the fact that the Christmas episode of Glee playing in the background really helped me get in the spirit! (Original recipe found here)

What You Will Need:

1 stick softened butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 bag (11.5oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips (melted)

1 cup flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy. Stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix until combined and beat in egg and melted chocolate chips. Stir in flour until combined. Lastly, mix in chocolate chips.  Drop dough by teaspoons onto un-greased cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with the bottom of a glass that has been coated with sugar. Bake for 8 minutes or until set. Cool on cookie sheets for approximately one minute and transfer to wire racks. Cool completely before frosting. 

Vanilla Frosting:

1/2 stick butter (softened)

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 Tbsp milk

Beat butter in a large bowl until creamy. Beat in sugar, vanilla, and milk. Add more milk or more sugar based upon the frosting's consistency. I found that I had to add more sugar, because it was initially too thin when I poured it into my piping bag. Iced cooled chocolate cookies, and top with crushed candy canes or peppermints.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted by: Maggie

I can't believe Thanksgiving was 10 days ago and I'm just finally putting up a Christmas recipe now!  Christmas is hands down my favorite time of the year.  I love the cold weather, pretty decorations, holiday baking, and everything else that goes along with the month of December.

Not to mention the Christmas music.  Thank goodness I live alone because I have listened to nothing but Christmas songs for the past week:

 

I made these on Friday before Jeff came over since he's always willing to be a guinea pig for my cooking.  It's Saturday afternoon as I write this and he's had 3 so far, so I think he approves!  They are moist and extremely flavorful - I will definitely be making this again.    

Jeff wanted me to take the cupcake picture in front of the Christmas tree instead of in front of my sunroom window.  My camera is a piece of junk so I try and take pics over there and at least get decent lighting, but I decided to take his suggestion as well.  It turned out dark and blurry, but purty! 

 

I adapted this recipe from Baked by Rachel.  I discovered her blog on Tastespotting when looking for a gingerbread cupcake recipe, and liked the look of her recipe best.  She topped hers with mini-gingerbread men which is a super cute alternative to sprinkles! The cinnamon cream cheese frosting comes from the site My Baking Addiction.  The recipe makes a LOT of frosting (I have about 2 cups leftover in my fridge and I frost my cupcakes very heavily).  You may want to cut it in half if you frost your cupcakes lighter and don't have a purpose for leftover frosting.

Here is what you will need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.  In a medium sized bowl, cream together your softened butter and sugar.  Add in flour, water, and molasses.  Mix well until combined, and add in egg, baking soda, and spices.  Continue to mix until just combined. 

Using a large cookie scoop, evenly fill your cupcake pan.  Don't worry if they don't look very full - these cupcakes rise quite a bit.  

Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.  Let cool completely before frosting.  Makes 12 cupcakes. 

Frosting recipe:

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

2 lbs (2 boxes) confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 t vanilla extract

Cream butter and cream cheese together in an electric mixer until well combined.  Gradually add in the sugar until fully incorporated.  Finally mix in cinnamon and vanilla.  I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost these.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Posted by: Maggie

Fudge is one of those desserts that has always scared me.  All that candy thermometer/soft ball nonsense, plus the very high probability that one misstep will result in a ruined dessert and wasted ingredients, has caused me to never attempt fudge making before.


When I saw this super easy recipe on How Sweet It Is I knew my fear of fudge would soon be but a distant memory. Not only does this recipe not require a candy thermometer, it is cooked in the microwave and comes together in 3 minutes flat.


I'm bringing this into work later today - I hope my coworkers like it as much as I do! (For those of who noticed the time this was posted, yeah, yeah, I get to work insanely late.  I'm sooo not a morning person and am insanely lucky to have a flexible schedule.)

If you're planning on doing any kind of Christmas dessert platter this year, this would be a great addition to it - I always associate fudge with Christmas for some reason. 

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened, condensed milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 T water

Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, and nuke for 30 seconds on full power.  Stir, and microwave for 30 more seconds.  Mixture will probably be smooth at this point, but if it's not continue microwaving in 30 second increments until it is.  Pour mixture into a foil lined 8-inch square baking dish, and refrigerate until solid.  Mine took about 60 minutes to be hard enough to cut.

12/20/12 [UPDATE]: I now make this in an 8x4 loaf pan to get thicker fudge. You may need to refrigerate it a bit longer. The photo shows fudge made in an 8x8 pan. 

Makes 16 pieces


Source

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted by: Maggie

Mmmm...is there anything more delicious than the chocolate and peanut butter combination? Peanut butter is quickly catching up with A Bitchin' Kitchen's other favorite ingredient - pumpkin.  (See here, here, here, and here.)

I've made these cookies many times before, but when I baked them last week for coworkers it was my first chance to photograph and blog about them.  I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and it's originally found in the Magnolia Bakery cookbook.  I first heard about Magnolia Bakery from the Sex and the City episode where Miranda and Carrie go there for cupcakes (probably the same time the rest of the show's non-Manhattanite fans heard about it.)



Honestly, I haven't heard the most positive reviews of their cupcakes, but their peanut butter cookie recipe is awesome.  I know whenever my most health conscious co-workers come back for thirds and fourths that I dun-good.

There won't be a new post tomorrow since Annie and I will both be traveling to New Jersey for Thanksgiving.  We're going to be making some Thanksgiving side dishes together, and will be blogging about it when we're back!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line baking sheets with parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and peanut butter until fluffy.  Beat in the sugar until smooth.  Add in the egg and beat well.  Beat in the milk and vanilla extract.  Add the flour mixture in batches, and beat until fully incorporated. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Chill dough for 30-60 minutes.  After dough has chilled, roll into walnut sized balls, and roll around in the extra sugar.  Place on baking sheet, and using your finger or an offset spatula slightly flatten the top of each cookie.  Bake for about 8 minutes - the originally recipe said 10-12, but mine were done far before that.

Cool the cookies on the sheet for a minute, and transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted by: Maggie

You didn't honestly thing we were done with pumpkin yet, did you? I'm pretty sure I've had this recipe from Smitten Kitchen bookmarked since she posted it almost two years ago, but I'm just getting around to making it now.


Jeff and I are having a very Halloween/fall themed weekend.  We plan to see Paranormal Activity 2, carve jack-o-lanterns, and go to a haunted forest.  The haunted forest doesn't allow children, so I'm hoping that means it's actually scary! I wanted to make a Halloween themed treat to go along with our fun, and when I gave Jeff the vote between these cupcakes and another Halloween recipe I have saved, he chose these.

A couple notes about the frosting...

 - It's very soft, even though I adjusted the ingredients as per suggestions on the original source of the recipe.  I was able to pipe it using a large round tip - I wouldn't suggest using a star tip since it doesn't hold its shape well.  After piping the frosting onto each individual cupcake I stuck them in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up.

- While delicious, I can't taste the maple flavor at all.  I think if I upped the amount of syrup that would make the frosting even less stable.  I wonder how maple extract would affect the flavor? If anyone tries it out let me know!

About the decorations...

- I bought an "Autumn Mix" from the grocery store that contained pumpkins and two colors of candy corn.  They need to sell those little pumpkins on their own - they're so cute for decorating if I do say so myself!

- They're not pictured because I unfortunately only had a couple minutes to photograph these before heading out the door, but I decorated some of them with a candied pecan half in place of the candy pumpkin.  When I first started cooking I was always really frustrated when recipes called for something like candied pecans, but didn't actually say how to do it.  It's not always obvious to new cooks! To make them, put 2 1/2 tablespoons of white sugar, and 1/2 cup pecan halves into a small skillet.  Stir constantly until the sugar caramelizes and coats the pecans.  The sugar will seem to melt suddenly - for about 5 minutes you'll just be pushing sugar around in a pan thinking it will never liquefy.

Here's what you'll need:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
Candied pecans and Autumn Mix for decoration

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line cupcake pans with 18 paper liners.

Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium for about 5 minutes, or until fluffy.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.

Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.  Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk/vanilla mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.  Beat in the pumpkin until smooth.

Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full, and lightly rap the pans on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - about 20-25 minutes. Cool on racks completely before frosting.

Frosting recipe:

12 oz (1.5 packages) cream cheese, softened
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 c maple syrup

Mix ingredients together on medium speed until fluffy. 

adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Leite's Culinaria

Hello Dolly Bars

Posted by: Maggie



Here's what you'll need:

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
9 graham crackers (5 ounces), crushed
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup butterscotch chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang to act as handles for lifting the bars out of the pan. Spray with non-stick spray.

Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the outer flakes just begin to brown, about 4 minutes. Pay close attention to it, as it can go from brown to burnt very quickly. Set aside.

Melt the butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Toss with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed. Press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

In order, sprinkle the walnuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut over the graham crumbs. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove from the pan using the parchment handles, and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 18 bars.

Oreo Truffles

Posted by: Maggie


This recipe is seriously one of the easiest, most delicious things I've ever made. I got rave reviews from my coworkers and boyfriend, which I almost felt guilty about accepting since these "truffles" require only three ingredients, and zero minutes in the oven. The most difficult part is waiting for the chocolate to set so that you can eat them without making a total mess.

Here's what you'll need:

1 package of Oreo cookies, finely crushed, 9 reserved for garnish
1 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
2 8 oz packages semi-sweet chocolate, melted. (I used Baker's brand)

Thoroughly combined crushed Oreos and softened cream cheese. Form mixture into approximately 40 1-inch balls, and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze balls for 30-45 minutes. Dip into melted chocolate, and garnish with reserved crushed Oreos.

These taste better when they've been out of the fridge for about an hour, but I recommend keeping them cold the rest of the time, since the cream cheese is perishable.

Also, these aren't pictured but I decorated some of them with melted white almond bark, dyed with pink gel food coloring. I just funneled it into a squeeze bottle and drizzled!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Posted by: Maggie


I'm on a quest to find the perfect, from scratch, white or yellow cupcake recipe. Despite baking everything else I make from scratch, I've always preferred to use boxed cake mixes for cupcakes. First of all, part of the fun of cupcakes is decorating, and I'm always anxious to get to that part of the recipe. Secondly, most from scratch cupcake recipes are just dry and crumbly. Boxed mixes, in all their preservative-laden glory are pretty damn moist (hate that word, hate that word, hate that word) and tasty.

This recipe comes from Simply Recipes, via blogger Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic. The cake is definitely not dry, likely from the inclusion of sour cream, and bakes up with nice domed tops perfect for decorating. The flavor threw me for a loop; it is delicious, but significantly less sweet than your typical Betty Crocker mix.

I'll be testing out a few other cupcake recipes in the next couple months, but I can definitely see myself returning to this recipe...at least now that I know where to find a vanilla bean in the grocery store. (Not in produce...silly Maggie McBlogger!) 'Scuse the craptastic picture, I'll try and get one in the daylight tomorrow morning.

Here's what you'll need:

Cupcake:

1 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean

Buttercream: (I doubled the frosting, and with the amount I use for cupcakes it barely covered 12. Unless you're a stingy froster, in which case, go away (I kid), you must double the following amounts. I suppose I could have done that for you...oh well.)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, I used extract since I tinted the frosting and didn't want black speckles to interfere with the pink beauty of my frosting)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While the oven preheats cut open and scrape out the seeds of a vanilla bean. Place the seeds, empty bean, and the milk into a small saucepan. Heat to just under a simmer for a few minutes being careful not to scald the milk. Remove from heat and allow the milk to steep and cool. (Be sure to remove the bean after it cools.)

Beat the butter for about 3 minutes on medium speed, then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat for 30 seconds. Add the egg whites, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds each.

In one bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another whisk together the vanilla steeped milk, vanilla extract, and sour cream.

Add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter sugar egg mixture in alternating additions (dry-wet-dry method), starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined being sure to not overbeat.

Divide the batter into cupcake papers in a muffin tin and bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Be sure to rotate the cupcakes after the first 15 minutes to ensure even baking. Be sure to keep a close eye as these can get overbaked quickly. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Frost when cooled.

For the frosting, beat the butter and slowly add in the powdered sugar. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean (or vanilla extract if using) and beat in. Dye a pretty color if desired.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Posted by: Annie

I found this recipe on Paula Deen's website, and it is definitely a keeper!

Not only are these truffles incredibly easy to make, but they are equally delicious! I brought these to work, and they were gone in minutes!

What you'll need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 1/2 pounds chocolate bark candy coating, melted

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add in the vanilla, and gradually mix in flour and milk. Add the chocolate chips and pecans, mixing well. Using your fingers, (I rolled my fingers in flour, because the dough was so sticky) shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper, and chill for two hours.

After the dough has chilled, melt the chocolate bark candy in a double boiler and dip the cookie balls into the melted chocolate to cover. Return to waxed paper and chill for an additional hour.

Birthday Cupcakes

Posted by: Maggie

I used a boxed mix and canned frosting for these birthday cupcakes, but I wanted to post photos anyway to provide decorating ideas to anyone who happens upon the blog :)

Left to right: Reese's chunks (I froze regular sized Reese's cups and chopped into sixths), mini-chocolate chips, Cookies & Cream (I pulverized Oreo cookies in food processor, mixed with vanilla frosting, and topped with an Oreo half), Vanilla icing piped on with a star tip, topped with nonpareils.

Left to right: Mini-chocolate chips again (The missing cupcake was the result of the Heath bar chunks not working, and completely causing the icing to slide off), Chocolate frosting with nonpareils and M&M decoration, Multicolored nonpareils, Vanilla frosting with M&Ms (I would recommend using minis if you can find them - the regular sized were way too heavy and those cupcakes turned out a bit messy looking)

Some close ups: